Clean-out mechanism for hydraulic dredge



May 29, 1956 c. P. KAUFMANN 2,

CLEAN-OUT MECHANISM FOR HYDRAULIC DREDGE Filed Sept. 9, 1955 54 57 56INVENTOR.

CARL 7? KAUFMAN/V ATTORNEYS United States Patent CLEAN-OUT MECHANHSM FQRHYDRAULIC DREDGE Carl P. Kaufmann, Baltimore, Md., assignor to EllicottMachine Corporation, Baltimore, Md, a corporation of MarylandApplication September 9, 1953, Serial No. 379,218

4 Claims. (Cl. 302-64) This invention relates generally to a clean-outapparatus for fluid conducting conduits and more particularly to aclean-out mechanism for use on dredges, hydraulic pumps, and the like.

It is quite customary to use hydraulic pumps on dredges, however,difficulty has been encountered since the inlet to the pumps oftenbecome clogged with large stones and accumulations of dirt and similarmaterials. In the past, it has been quite common to provide a smallaccess opening in the upper side of the inlet conduit adjacent to thepump. These access openings have been unsatisfactory since they do notprovide a substantial opening through which the obstruction may beremoved or provide sufficient access for inspection of the inside of acentrifugal dredge pump and also since they are time-consuming to usewith the result that substantial losses of operating time occur. Suchaccess openings are also unsatisfactory because they are not poweroperated.

It is an important object of this invention to provide a clean-outmechanism which is power operated and which will reduce the manual labornecessary to cleaning out the inlet conduit of a hydraulic pump to thevery minimum.

It is another important object of this invention to provide an apparatusadapted to be energized by fluid pressure which will enable the removalof obstructions in the inlet conduit of a hydraulic pump with a minimumeffort.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a simple, easilymanufactured apparatus for cleaning out the inlet conduit of a hydraulicpump which will provide a long and relatively trouble-free service lifeand which is simple. to operate.

Further objectives and advantages will become apparent from thefollowing description and appended drawings herewith:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a clean-out mechanism according to theinvention applied to the inlet conduit of a centrifugal dredge pump; and

Fig. 2 is a view partially in section showing the details ofconstruction of the cleaning apparatus according to this invention.

A clean-out mechanism according to this invention comprises an annularfluid conducting conduit formed with an opening therein extendingcircumferentially around the conduit through substantially one-half ofthe periphery. A closure member formed with a radius of curvaturesubstantially equal to the radius of the conduit is pivotally mounted onsaid conduit and adapted to close the opening. Power means are providedwhich are operatively connected to the closure member and adapted torotate the closure member about the pivot on the conduit to open andclose the opening therein. The closure member forms a portion of thebottom wall of the conduit when in the position to close the opening andlocking means are provided to secure the closure member in the closedposition.

Referring to the drawings, an apparatus according to this invention isshown in Fig. 1 applied to an inlet conduit 10 of a centrifugal dredgepump 11. The inlet conduit is formed with an opening 12, best seen inFig. 2 which extends substantially around of the inlet conduit. Thisopening is arranged so that a portion of the bottom wall of the conduitis open so that any obstruction which might be in the conduit will slideout of the opening. A closure member or door 13 is pivoted on the inletconduit 10 as at 14 and is arranged to close the opening when desired.The closure member 13 is formed with a radius of curvature substantiallyequal with the radius of the conduit so that when the closure member isin the position to close the conduit openings a smooth wall is providedwhich will not interrupt the flow of fluid through the conduit.

An actuating mechanism Which in the preferred embodiment is a hydraulicmotor means or a pneumatic motor means is provided to move the closuremember 13 between the opened and closed positions. In the preferredembodiment two hydraulic cylinders 16 and 17 are mounted co-axially onthe inlet conduit 10. Each of these cylinders is double acting so thatthe force developed to open and close the closure member is the sum ofthe force developed in each of the cylinders. The cylinder 16 isprovided with a piston 18 and piston rod 19 which is connected to oneend of the rack 21. The cylinder 17 is provided with a piston 22 andpiston rod 23 which is connected to the other end of the rack 21. Theclosure member is mounted on the shaft 24 which is in turn journaled inthe closure member supports 26 thereby providing the pivotal mounting ofthe closure member on the inlet conduit 10. A gear 27 is mounted on theshaft 24 and is arranged to engage the rack 21 so that as the rack ismoved to the left or to the right as shown in Fig. 2 the shaft 24 isrotated and the closure member is in turn either opened or closed.

In the preferred embodiment of this invention, a roller 28 is positionedso as to engage the rack on the side opposite the gear 27 and therebysupporting and guiding the rack as it moves back and forth. The fluidinlet 29 on the cylinder 16 and the fluid inlet 31 on the cylinder 17are connected together and serve to admit fluid under pressure intotheir respective cylinders when the closure member is to be rotated tothe open position. The inlet 32 on the cylinder 16 and the inlet 33 onthe cylinder 17 are connected together and serve to admit fluid underpressure to their respective cylinders when the closure member is to bemoved to the closed position.

A locking means comprising an arm 34 pivoted to the inlet conduit 10 asat as is arranged to engage ears 37 on the closure member 13 to lock theclosure member in the closed position thereby providing a positive lockmechanism which eliminates the possibility of leakage around the closuremember. A small dump car 38 may be provided to receive the articlescleaned out of the inlet conduit. In most applications on a hydraulicdredge, this car 38 would be mounted on rails 39 so that the materialcleaned out of the inlet conduit could be dumped overboard.

In the preferred embodiment of this invention the opening 12 on theclosure member 13 are arranged so that the opening is inclined relativeto the vertical. This arrangement is preferable because it permits theclosure member to swing open easily without requiring too much verticalclearance and also so the obstructions will slide out of the conduit.

Hydraulic motor means or pneumatic motor means are utilized to actuatethe closure member in the preferred embodiment since most hydraulicdredges are provided with either one or the other of these sources offluid under pressure which is used to operate the various machinery onthe dredge, however, other power means might be utilized depending uponthe type of power available.

In operation the car 33 is positioned beneath the inlet conduit afterwhich the arm 34 is moved upwardly thereby releasing the iock on theclosure member 13. At this time fluid under pressure is supplied to theinlet 29 and 31 causing the pistons Iii and 22 to move the rack 21 tothe right as shown in Fig. 2. This will cause the closure member torotate about its pivot to the position shown in phantom in Figs. 1 and2. In most cases obstructions will then fall out of the conduit into thecar 38, however, it may be necessary to some cases to pry theobstructions loose, but it is apparent to those skilled in the art thatsuflicient access is provided to make this operation easy.

After the obstruction is removed the fluid under pressure is supplied tothe inlets 32 and 33 causing the rack '21 to return to the positionshown in Fig. 2 thereby bring" ing the closure member 13 to the closedposition. After the closure member 13 is in the closed position, the arm34 is returned to the position shown in Fig. 2 thereby locking theclosure member in place.

It should be understood that by providing the pivot of the closuremember 13 at a point spaced from the vertical plane through the axis ofthe conduit the weight of the material within the conduit assist in theopening of the closure member. This is because the center of gravity ofthe material is horizontally spaced from the pivot 14. When the closuremember moves to the closed position, however, not much power is neededsince the center of gravity of the closure member is relatively close tothe vertical plane through the pivot 14-.

Although I have described one form of my invention in considerabledetail, numerous variations may be made therein without departing fromthe scope of the invention as designed in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination, a centrifugal dredge pump, a horizontally disposedfluid conduit connected to the pump, said conduit formed with an openingtherein adjacent the pump extending circumferentially around the conduitfor about one-half of the periphery thereof, a closure member for saidopening formed with a radius of curvature at the inside of the closuremember corresponding substantially to the radius of curvature at theinside of the conduit, a shaft mounted on the exterior of said conduit,said shaft having an axis parallel to the axis of said conduit and abovethe axis of said conduit, said closure member being pivotally supportedby said shaft, hydraulic actuated power means operatively connected tosaid closure member to rotate said closure member about said pivot toopen and close said opening.

2. In combination, a centrifugal dredge pump, an opening in the pumpcasing, a horizontally disposed fluid conduit having a circularcross-section connected to the said pump opening, said conduit formedwith an opening therein adjacent the pump opening extendingcircumferentially around the conduit for about one-half of the peripherythereof, a closure member for said conduit opening formed with a radiusof curvature corresponding substantially to the radius of curvature ofthe conduit, a shaft mounted on the exterior of said conduit, said shafthaving an axis parallel to the axis of said conduit and above the axisof said conduit, said closure member being pivotally supported by saidshaft, fluid pressure cylinder and piston means operatively connected tosaid closure member to rotate said closure member about said pivot toopen and close said opening.

3. In combination, a centrifugal dredge pump having an inlet, an annularhorizontally disposed conduit connected to the said inlet of the dredgepump, said conduit having an opening in the Wall thereof adjacent thedredge pump inlet extending circumferentially around the conduit throughsubstantially one-half of the periphery of the conduit, a closure memberfor said opening having a radius of curvature correspondingsubstantialiy to the radius of curvature of the conduit so as to form acontinuation of conduit wall leading to the pump inlet, a shaft mountedon the exterior of said conduit, said shaft having an axis parallel tothe axis of said conduit and above the axis of said conduit, saidclosure member being pivotally supported by said shaft whereby theweight of material within the conduit adjacent the pump inlet normallyurges the door to open position, hydraulic actuating means operativelyconnected to said closure member, said hydraulic means mounted on theconduit at one side of the closure member to move the closure member toopen and closed positions, locking means carried by the closure memberand the conduit at the edge of the closure member remote from the pivotaxis to hold the closure member in closed position.

4. In combination, a centrifugal dredge pump having an opening therein,an annular horizontally disposed conduit connected to the opening insaid dredge pump, said conduit having an opening therein adjacent thedredge pump opening extending circumferentially around the conduit, aclosure member for said opening having a radius of curvature at theinside thereof corresponding substantially to the radius of curvature ofthe conduit so as to form a continuation of conduit wall leading to thepump opening, a shaft mounted on the exterior of said conduit, saidshaft having an axis parallel to the axis of said conduit and above theaxis of said conduit, said closure member being pivotally supported bysaid shaft whereby the weight of material within the conduit adjacentthe pump normally urges the door to open position, fluid pressureresponsive actuator means operatively connected to said closure memberat that side of conduit opening most remote from the pump opening tomove the closure member to open and closed positions, and locking meanscarried by the closure member at the edge thereof remote from the pivotaxis to hold the closure member in closed position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,255,949 Thormodson Feb. 12, 1918 2,080,725 Lower May 18, 19372,551,827 Curtis May 18, 1951 2,632,196 Rappl Mar. 24, 1953 2,657,924Greenmun Nov. 3, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 107,536 Great Britain July 5, 1917

